The present invention relates to treatment operations in subterranean zones, and more particularly, to consolidation compositions and methods of using these consolidation compositions to mitigate water production from subterranean formations.
The production of water with oil and/or gas from wells constitutes a major problem and expense in the production of oil and gas. While oil and gas wells are usually completed in hydrocarbon producing zones, a water bearing zone may occasionally be present adjacent to the hydrocarbon producing zone. In some circumstances, the higher mobility of the water may allow it to flow into the hydrocarbon producing zone by way of, inter alia, natural fractures and high permeability streaks. In some circumstances, the ratio of water to hydrocarbons recovered may become sufficiently high that the cost of producing, separating, and disposing of the water may represent a significant economic loss.
One attempt to reduce the production of water has been to place viscous polymers into water and hydrocarbon producing formations so as to cause them to enter the water-producing zones within and adjacent to the formations such that they may cross-link therein. The cross-linking of the viscous polymers tends to produce stiff gels, which may eliminate, or at least reduce, the flow of water through the natural fractures and high permeability streaks in the formations. However, such methods have achieved varying degrees of success, as the lack of strength of some of the viscous polymers has often caused them to deteriorate over time, necessitating the performance of additional treatments. This problem is often exacerbated in high temperature reservoirs (e.g., reservoirs having temperatures in excess of about 350° F.), where the viscous polymers tend to degrade at a much faster rate.